Sonnen Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Charge

UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen
has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of money
laundering stemming from his work as a real estate agent in
2006.

Sonnen, 33, entered the plea Monday before the U.S. District Court
in Portland, Ore., according to a
press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. His
sentencing is scheduled for March 28 at 11:30 a.m, just days
following an MMA Junkie-reported bout against Yoshihiro
Akiyama at UFC
128. The government will recommend that Sonnen be sentenced to
two years of probation, according to
The Oregonian. The maximum sentence for money laundering is 20
years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

According to the release, Sonnen “admitted that a financial
transaction he conducted was designed to conceal or disguise the
ownership and control of the proceeds of wire fraud.”

Specifically, Sonnen allegedly arranged for a title company to pay
$69,000 to a plumbing company for repairs to a Portland home that
Sonnen was involved in the sale of. The release states that Sonnen
knew that no repairs would be made to the home. Once the loan was
funded, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, the plumbing
company was directed by Sonnen to pay $65,000 to the homebuyer as a
cash incentive for purchasing the home.

In 2010, Sonnen ran for a seat in the Oregon House of
Representatives, winning the Republican primary in the state’s 37th
District. However, Sonnen withdrew from the race in June, citing “a
2006 legal issue... that needs my immediate attention.”

Sonnen is currently serving a suspension handed down by the
California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for
abnormally high levels of testosterone prior to his UFC 117 loss to
Anderson
Silva. In early December, Sonnen went before the CSAC and had
his suspension reduced to six months and a $2,500 fine. That
suspension is set to end on March 2.

This item was updated at 11:58 p.m. ET to include information
obtained by The Oregonian and MMA Junkie.